Kiss Me Once Again
by Sprklz03
Summary: The continuation of Crista Fraiser's story, when she receives an interesting call while her best friends are slightly busy in Sokovia.
1. Hulk Sized Issues

Saying that Steve had been home was a stretch. The Avengers were home for about a week at a time and had basically been working every second of that time. They all happened to be staying in "Avengers" tower so if I wanted to see either Steve or Natasha I had to deal with Tony pestering me with questions about whether I have boinked Steve lately.

I was currently sitting on the patio portion of a café looking up at their tower. Trying to get into that tower required battling through a billion fan boys trying to get an autograph, a background check and fingerprinting. I wouldn't even have been admitted if Steve hadn't come down and cleared me the first time I was there. The receptionist kept asking about why I had disappeared for four days two years ago. I mean, it's not like I could say "I went back to 1944 to hang with the Howling Commandos".

"Are you waiting for the flyby?" My waitress asked. I blinked to focus on her; she had a nice smile with long curly blond hair.

"What flyby?" I asked, glancing down at my phone. Steve was supposed to text me when they landed.

"The Avengers. Their plane lands every once in a while at the tower."

"Of course they have a plane. Why should they come home inconspicuously?" I uttered. Maybe Natasha would text me first. She said she needed to talk and while Clint was her best friend, she needed a woman. Whatever that meant.

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed. Now I had been on edge ever since they left. Well, every time they left. I hated watching my friends go out and risk their lives. The text was Nat. "Be at Tower in 5." I always hated it when they were very cryptic in their text messages.

"I actually have to go." I said, quickly digging out cash and handing it to her. I was pretty sure I over tipped a stupid amount but I had five minutes to get through those stupid fan boys and up twenty floors.

My name is Crista Fraiser, and I am stupid enough to have Captain America and Black Widow as two of my closest friends. Let me tell you, the stress really outweighs the benefits sometimes. As per usual, the crowd of tourists and nerds were gathered outside Stark Tower, because most of the time I refused to call it the Avengers Tower, and I battled through them to the door man. I smiled slightly, brushing my curls off my face as I shoved through the double glass doors.

"Hello Crista." Janet said. I smiled to the women behind the desk as I dashed toward the elevators. "I take it they are home."

"According to Natasha." The women's brown eyes widened. While everyone in Stark Tower realized they were working for the Avengers, Natasha and Bruce had a tendency to scare them. Which I really didn't understand; Natasha barely spoke to anyone and Bruce was totally chill when he wasn't on a "code green". The elevator dinged and I smiled ruefully to myself at the term the team had created for "we are getting our asses kicked and need the angry one pronto."

"Hello Ms. Fraser." I breathed in, forcing myself to relax a little.

"Hello Jarvis. As fast as you can to the living room please."

"Of course Ms. Fraser." It had taken me a grand total of six seconds to fall head over heels in love with Tony's AI and want one. I was still trying to find a way to get Jarvis in my apartment. The doors dinged and I heard the hubbub going on.

"Maria?" I asked, searching the room for the skinny agent. Yes I still insisted on calling her Agent. She had introduced herself the day after mine and Steve's stress release in DC last year and I always felt better when I reminded myself that Maria Hill was at headquarters looking out for my friends. She was standing at the door to the run way and as she glanced at me, and then behind her. I followed her sight line up to Bruce's lab to see the number of doctors rushing around and my stomach froze. Something was wrong. "Oh my god." I said and felt my entire body tense; if Steve was hurt I was tying him up in my closet and never letting him go.

"It's Clint." She said. And just like that I could breath. And then not breath.

"Is Clint ok?" I asked moving over to her.

"He'll be fine." She said. I looked at Maria, the same question in my eyes she was probably tired of me asking.

"Just Clint. Took a hit to the side I think." She said. Natasha was probably a mess. I caught the sight of her red hair sitting in the corner of Bruces lab watching the procedure.

"Hill." And with that voice my tension melted as I turned around the door to see him coming out of the elevator. He was tired, and upset at having an injured team mate, I could see that instantly. But also stressed about something else. It was the same look he had when I got to DC. But he standing and walking and talking all on his own. "Crista?" He asked and that brilliant smile spread over his face.

"Hey Steve." I said, before running at my best friend and latching my arms around his neck. His arms wrapped around my back in exchange, pulling me closer as I felt his body relax. "You ok?" I whispered. I knew Hill would tell me, and I knew she knew I always asked Steve but I always had to hear it from the horse's mouth. He squeezed my waist and chuckled against my neck.

"Fine. Took a couple of punches, but that was it." I pulled back, watching that easy crooked smile settle on his oh so perfect features as I scanned his face. All signs of his fight with Bucky were gone, like the next day and the face that looked back at me was fully Steve.

"Maria, Tony wants you."

"Oh my god Nat." I said, forcing Steve to put me down. Somehow, and I'm never sure how, Steve gets me off the ground without my noticing every time. The red head turned around having not noticed me eyes only for her partner for the time. Next I was wrapped around Nat.

Black Widow didn't show a lot of emotion, ever, but I knew when her fists latched onto the back of my shirt that she was upset. The only thing I could think to do I learned in equestrian school and made small "shhshing" noises while smoothing down Nat's hair.

"What happened?" I asked.

"There were enhanced in the field." Steve said behind us. I pulled back and looked to him, the stern look back on his face; that explained it. New, stressful information.

"Enhanced like you?" I asked. "Like…?" I couldn't even get the name out but Steve saw of whom I was thinking on my face. He shook his head slightly. I couldn't think about what would have happened if Bucky had been the one to shoot Clint.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximov." Maria said coming back into the room. Maria and Steve glanced at each other and the two took off further into the tower discussing the two.

"Hey." I said, watching Nat's green eyes refocus on me. "Are you ok?" I asked. She nodded briefly. "Hi Bruce." I said was the quiet doctor walked by.

"Hi Crista." He said in that quiet way that he had. I felt Natasha tense next to me and looked over at her with an arched eye brow. Bruce moved through the tower toward his lab that was currently being used to heal whatever happened to Clint.

"Did he do a lot of damage?" I asked tentatively as the lab door closed behind him. I knew that the amount of damage that Bruce did when he was the Hulk was something that didn't necessarily sit well with him. He hated being reminded that the thought the Hulk was a monster.

"No. He saved our asses like usual." She said, with that stoniness that I had come to know was just her way.

"I really hate that you have to have your asses saved. And that it's usual." I said, my turquois eyes rolling in dismissing the thought that two of my closest friends put their lives on the line every day.

"He'll always be there." Nat said, in a completely different tone than I had ever heard her use; like I didn't even know she was capable of that wistful tone.

"Natasha Romanoff, do you have a crush?" I asked, watching her out of the corner of my eye. When she didn't come back with some snarky remark but simply looked at her toes my teasing disappeared. "Oh my god Nat. Is that what you wanted to talk about?" I asked, moving in front of her and forcing her to look at me.

"Yeah." I almost laughed. Ok I did laugh. She sounded so defeated and like one of my students it was kind of funny. "Never mind." She said, rolling her eyes and moving to follow Steve.

"No, no, no. I'm sorry, it was just funny to think of you in high school for a second." She quirked an eyebrow at me and I shook my head, it was too long to describe and probably only funny to me. "Let's talk. Somewhere private. Ooh! Steve's room." I said grabbing the spy's hand and heading toward the elevator.

"Captain Rogers is in his room." Maria said as she walked passed us.

"Oh great, maybe we will catch him with his pants down." I said, sticking my tongue out at the SHIELD agent. Natasha laughed next to me as we got in the elevator and I saw Maria roll her eyes with a small smile on her face.

"Captain Rogers' pants are currently up." JARVIS informed me.

"Creepy!" I couldn't imagine having a computer system know every little thing that I was doing. Maybe I didn't want JARVIS in my apartment. "Don't tell him we are coming up." I said, eyes focused on the ceiling of the elevator as if that was going to scare the AI into follow my instructions.

Steve was leaning against the sliding door to his balcony, causally looking out over the city. When we walked in he turned at the sound of our voices.

"No knock?" He asked, arms crossed over his chest.

"No. Get out." I said smiling sweetly at him. He was still in his uniform pants and boots but had removed the bullet proof upper half with the star on it. He laughed slightly at my tone, my arms dropping briefly to give me a glance at how tight his under shirt was; God I loved having a hot best friend.

"How is Barton?" He asked, focusing on Natasha but shoving away from the wall.

"He'll be fine." She said. They shared a relieved look that I couldn't understand. I didn't have a team. I didn't need a team. No body needed to have my back at all times or I would die.

"Don't go through my draws." He said with a slightly pained expression as he moved toward the door behind us.

"Once!" I said. "I did that once! I was looking or Advil." The first week Steve had moved into the tower he had caught me in his pants drawer. It wasn't even his underwear drawer, I mean come on Cap, letitgo! As he passed by us, he dropped a kiss onto the top of my head and squeezed Nat's arm. He was really shaken. They both were. Once the door closed I turned to the spy. "Spill."

By the time Natasha was done, we were sitting on Steve's bed, curled into ourselves. It was interesting and I could tell she was being completely sincere. Natasha Romanoff had a massive crush on the Hulk. Like a hulk sized crush. There also seemed to be some reciprocal feelings if everything she told me about the lullaby was true; she was the only one who could get Bruce back to not green.

"But I've never really had this problem." She said, leaning her head against her knees. "The whole, actually caring about someone predicament." Now I didn't really know what to say because I had never had the problem Natasha did. "He is too good for me." She said quietly.

"What? Wrong." I said. I had interacted with Dr. Banner enough to be on a first name basis with him, but he wasn't a god. That would be Thor. And Steve. "Bruce is great Nat, but he isn't too good for you. Where did that come from?"

"He has this anger problem. He thinks that he is a monster. But he isn't. The other guy isn't either, he is just angry. Me? I kill because I am told to. I don't even think twice about it, or feel about it." I reached over, touching her hand to make her stop. I was under no misunderstanding of Natasha's past. It was all over the internet since D.C. Her past, the one from which Clint saved her, it was unpleasant to say the least.

"You aren't that person anymore Natasha. You don't kill for no reason." She shook her head, her red curls bouncing. "You don't. You kill people yes. So does Steve. So does Tony. But you guys do it to protect others. Not just because they pissed you off, or it was fun. You aren't a monster Natasha." I said, seeing in her eyes that she didn't believe me. "I know, 'cause I don't like monsters." She laughed slightly, but seemed to relax a little. "Have you talked to Bruce?"

"No. I wanted to see what you thought first." Now no one would ever say that they felt warm and fuzzy around Black Widow, but knowing she trusted me was pretty damn close. "Are you going to come to the party?" She asked before I had a chance to let the mushy feeling get too close.

"What party?" I asked.

"Tony is throwing a victory party for finally getting the scepter back." My eyes rolled.

"Like Tony needs an excuse to throw a party." Natasha laughed.

"You should come. Steve would like it. And Sam is coming." I perked up at that. I hadn't seen Sam in almost a year.

"Yeah? Ok. I miss Sam." I said. I liked the snarky Pilot and he had been kind of MIA since D.C.

"Miss him like I miss Bruce." I gave her a look. Natasha should have known that Sam was just Sam.

"Really?" Natasha shrugged in response to my unimpressed question.

"When was the last time you… you know?" She asked, a smile pulling at her face. "Tell me it wasn't Steve in D.C?" I sighed, ridiculously frustrated.

"What about me?" Steve asked, coming back through the door. Perfect awkward timing as usual.

"Did Tony tell everyone about his visit to D.C?" I asked. Natasha giggled slightly beside me, causing Steve's blush to rise to his cheeks. "Or was it you!" I said, eyes narrowed as I stood up.

"What?" Steve stuttered. I took a step forward, focusing on the slightly panicked look in his eyes.

"You did! You bragged didn't you Rogers." The look on his face almost made me laugh.

"Crista I would never…" He said, backing up slightly as he hit the wall. "I didn't… damn it."

"Language Steve." Natasha said, making me frown over my shoulder at her in confusion. Her eyebrow quirked, classic clue that she was teasing. Steve sighed, drawing my attention back to him.

"Don't lie to me Steve." He was almost actually offended at my comment as he looked down at me.

"I don't lie to you Crista." The sincerity with which that was said almost broke my facade, and my heart but I kept going.

"You are right now! Admit, you told Natasha." I was up next to him, my finger pointing in his face. His eyes crossed looking down at it and before he could move it, I pressed onto my toes and kissed him. As always, he tensed slightly before pushing on my waist. The smile that greeted him was obviously enough to explain that the whole thing was sarcastic. "So tell me about this party." I said, moving and flopping back onto the bed.


	2. Ultron Why was that necessary?

Sam and Steve were up on the balcony that stretched around the living room, looking down to the mass of people surrounding the bar in Tony's living room. Because everyone needs a bar in the living room; a fully stocked, completely professional bar of course. I was sitting with Maria who had someone snagged Steve's jacket.

"Were you cold?" I nudged. Steve hadn't said anything about having feelings for someone, but he had been busy. But he would also give his jacket to any "dame" who needed it, not just one he had feelings for.

"Yes I was. I happen to make a quick comment and Steve just handed it over. Damn he smells good." I smiled slight; god I loved off-the-clock slash slightly buzzed Maria.

"I know. His whole room smells that way." I said.

"You two are very close." She said, blinking over at me. I smiled. A lot of people thought that Steve and I were actually dating because of how I was around him, and no one believed us when we said we weren't. I glanced up at the balcony seeing that he had actually moved and was heading to the bar, where Natasha and Bruce were talking.

"He's my best friend." I said, turning back to Maria's stunningly blue eyes. I wonder if that is how people felt when they looked at me.

"How did that even happen?" She asked. I shrugged. Only five people in the world knew how that happened, and if Bucky wasn't Bucky than that number dropped. Thankfully with SHIELD tanking, Natasha had never told Fury about the whole time travel situation. I shrugged and smiled.

"Ran into him one day and he seemed lost. Didn't know who he was so we got to talking and the rest as they say is history."

So, you know chaos is awesome. I was behind the piano with Helen crawling over broken glass. I hadn't had the guts to watch what was happening in the rest of the room. Steve had given me his Captain America "Hide now" look that no one argues with; then again with a demented half put together Robot standing in the room I didn't need telling twice.

Last time the world was falling apart around me at least I had a hot guy to cling to. I couldn't say the same for the Korean doctor who was clinging to me now; did that make me the hot guy? Helen screamed as the piano was shoved aside. I caught the flash of royal blue out of the corner of my eye.

"Are you ok?" He asked blue eyes intently boring into mine. I nodded as Helen looked over to Steve who helped us both to our feet. The room was a disaster, everything was broken and I counted two Steve sized holes in the wall, and three Thor sized ones. Natasha had Bruce up on the second level and Tony was currently starring into the face of one of his robots, bleeding from the hand.

Steve grabbed me by the arm to pull me into a hug and now that the chaos was gone I felt all the cuts and scratches but his solidness was reassuring to me on a level it probably shouldn't be, but lets ignore that for now. Everyone silently met in the middle of the room, me still firmly wrapped in Steve's arms.

"I shall find it." Thor boomed with a hand out. The hammer that everyone had tried lifting earlier came flying out of nowhere, it was swung around and Thor was gone through the whole in the window. In the next second, I registered the tension in the torso to which I was clinging.

"I told you to watch her Nat." Steve snarled. Like actually snarled. Apparently that meant angry Steve. Growling equals happy; snarling equals angry. Good to know. "I told you to stay with Crista."

"And I told her to get Bruce." I said, putting a hand on his arm glancing across the room at Natasha before the spy could respond, or shoot him. I had heard the Captains command as I went sliding behind a couch. Nat was with me for a split second before I told her to keep Bruce skin colored. "I'm fine Steve." He glared around at his team for a second, longer on Tony than anyone else and grabbed me again, dragging me to the bathroom.

Angry Steve was not something I was used to. Determined, slightly vulnerable, dominating (in bed and in life), fighting, and confident I could handle. I had never seen him angry. So I took the smart road and stayed quiet. As we got into the bathroom his hands clamped around my waist lifting me onto the counter with a startled squeak.

For a split second I thought another bought of stress release was going to occur but he moved away to dig through the cabinet, pulling out the first aid kit and I let the anticipation filled tension go.

"I really am fine." I said quietly.

"That cut on your head says otherwise." I twisted around to look the mirror and gasped. I hadn't even realized I had a slice across my forehead.

"Awesome." I guess this was easier to explain away than a four day disappearance. Steve reached out and gently turned my face to him. I smiled slightly as he brushed the hair off my face; I liked how gentle he could be while still being so incredibly strong. "You know that if Bruce had lost it, things would be much worse." I said. I had overheard Steve and Bruce's conversation about Natasha earlier so I knew he knew what I meant. He nodded.

"I know." I hissed slightly as he cleaned up the wound but didn't say anything and he blew cool air over it to stop the stinging. "I just…" I felt him putting the butterfly band aides over the cut and looked at him. "I just keep getting you hurt." He said. And vulnerable Steve was back! Yay!

"You know if I really minded, I would stop hanging out with you." I said. He shook his head. Great. Not listening Steve was back too! Not yay. "Steve." I said, reaching up to force him to look at me, my hands on either side of his face. "I am fine. I might not be super, but I am not so easily broken." He leaned forward, his forehead against mine lightly, as his eyes closed. "Plus, Natasha is the one who made me come to this shindig so you can blame her." He smiled ruefully.

"I do." He said. Oh. Angry Steve was back. "She should have gotten you out first." I sighed and shook his face slightly in my hands.

"Gotten me where? Those things where flying everywhere. Bruce was more important and you know that." He nodded in acknowledgment and I smiled. "Little cuts and bruises mean nothing when I get to say that Captain America is my best friend. Because you know, it's the only reason I spend time with you, the bragging rights." That got Steve back, and I figured the team was going to need Steve in Captain Mode for the next couple of days.

"Now this part of the lecture comes with a warning. If you speak to anyone from Texas, don't mention this. They have their own, glorified idea of what happened. So Richard, sorry, just don't talk to your grandparents about today." My students laughed. "After being refused admission to the Union for lack of another non slave state to balance Texas, the settlers reached out the Mexican Government. Well Mexico had already abolished slavery and wanted the settlers to convert to Catholicism. Of course they did neither even though they agreed to it. The Texas Revolution occurred because the Mexican government tried to force the abolition of slavery in the territory and the settlers fought back." My phone rang at this point. I glanced down to it really quick only to see Steve's name flash back at me.

Steve knew that I had class right now; we had talked about it on numerous occasions. I also knew that they had gone after an Ultron. A shot of ice went through my system.

"Ok guys, give me a minute, I have to take this call. Read through pages 50-65 quietly."

"Is it Captain America?" Someone asked. After D.C, and the news footage of me being with Steve had surfaced my popularity as a teacher sky rocketed. Everyone seemed to know that I was friends with the Avengers.

"Read." I said, grabbing the phone and heading outside. "Steve?" I said.

"Hey Crista." That previous ice got colder; that was the same tone he had used when he asked me to come to D.C.

"What's wrong? Is Nat ok? Are you dead?" I asked. He laughed slightly before heaving a sigh that I imagined almost busted the seams of his suit.

"We took a hit." He said and I could practically see him rubbing the back of his neck. When he didn't elaborate I almost reached through the phone and strangled him.

"What does that mean? What kind of hit?" I said, pressing back against the building wall.

"You remember the enhanced?" He asked.

"The two yous?" He laughed again. I couldn't remember their names so that is what I had taken to calling them.

"Yeah. One of them has mind control." Well that was terrifying and sounded just way too much like Loki and HYDRA for my tastes. "Nat took it real hard, but she is ok." I released a breath. "Thor went to find answers about something..." He heaved another huge sigh and I could tell he was distracted and rambling.

"Why did you call me Steve? Where are you?" I said. I didn't particularly want to get into the middle of another Steve Rogers battle, but if he and Nat needed me I would be there in a heartbeat.

"We're safe." He answered. "She got me." I swallowed, waiting for the rest of the sentence but didn't seem to be getting one.

"What does that mean?"

"She creates an alternate reality. A fear come to life. I was in a dance hall, after the war. People were bleeding from gunshot wounds, but most people were dancing." Well that didn't sound that bad. "Peggy was there." Damn it. I made a noise to encourage him to continue. "We danced. Like we were supposed to. Like I had always planned to." I heard him take a breath to steady himself. I knew that the loss of his entire life was something he was still struggling with. As much as it seemed that Steve had adjusted, he still missed the 40's. He still felt like he should be old and wrinkled and have lived his life with Peggy. "She said, the war was over. We could go home." I frowned in confusion even though he didn't see it. It only took a second for the actual fear to click.

"You're afraid you won't find it? Home?"

"How can I find a home Crista? Everything is so different so changed. The only home I know is… so different. How does one help everyone else when they can't figure out the most basic of things; where home is."

"I know its cheesy Steve, but home is where the heart is."

"My heart is in war." Hearing Steve said that was almost like someone slapped me.

"What?"

"Ultron said something."

"That crazy demented half Robot thing from Tony's house?"

"Something to the effect of I don't know what to do if there isn't something to fight."

"So now you are thinking that is all you are. The muscle."

"The fighter for the biggest bully of them all." He said resigned.

"Wrong. SHIELD was meant to help people. And the Avengers aren't bullies. You don't have to be the muscle Steve. You are the voice of reason. You are what keeps the team together. The Avengers, that is your home. Doing what is right for the greater good. You have always done that. Even when you didn't have the physicality to back it up." The line was silent for a minute but I could hear him breathing.

"Thanks Crista." He said.

"Any time hon." I replied even though I had no idea what he was thanking me for. I reminded him to be careful and stay alive before we hung up and I distractedly went back to teaching.

My phone rang again just after the last bell of the day. My heart jumped into my throat as I looked at the unknown number. Steve said they were safe, and Nat's phone was programmed into my contacts.

"Hello?"

"Crista Fraser. New York, New York." This frozen was a good frozen. _Save him._ Those were the last words I heard that voice say.

"This is she?" I said falteringly. It had been months. Sam had been looking for him, but every assassin knows how to hide.

"You told me to find you. When I wanted to know the truth."

"Do you?" The line was silent and I thought for a moment he had hung up.

"Yes."

The café was crowded but I had found a table in the corner so people were leaving me alone. I also had a constant eye on the door. I didn't really know what to expect, but it wasn't the man that sat down across from me.

"Jay!" I said. Oh, now was not a good time.

"Waiting for someone?" He asked. The blond had some squeeze ball charm to him that was just enough to make women think they could change him. We had dated for about two months before he realized I wasn't going to try. He got some twisted turn on from telling women they couldn't change him; they couldn't break the stallion.

"Actually yes." He had also found out who my best friend was. Jay was a huge Captain America fan. He had all the comic books and all the old radio shows on his computer. So basically, he was stalking me trying to find a way to "inadvertently" meet Steve.

"Anyone good?"

"I would say yes." Being so wrapped up in Jay's presence I hadn't seen him walk in. His hair was shorter, more like the first time I met him, and his green eyes shone with a twinkle that was new and yet old at the same time. Jay looked up at him, allowing his eyes to give him a once over.

"Trust me you can't take him." I said to my ex, raising an eyebrow at him. With that, he huffed and walked away, allowing me to stand. He was dressed in a long sleeved shirt and… were those driving gloves? "Hi."

"Hi." I motioned for him to sit and followed suit. "Did you want to order something? I have coffee on the way." His head shook and he looked at me across the table.

"I knew you were familiar." He said.

"What should I call you?" I said. He had been so all over the place the last time that I had decided his old name wasn't good enough.

"Bucky." He said.

Upstate was beautiful. Except for the sterile white building in the middle of the field. Tony had called me when he got home, saying that the facility was ready for family and visitors and who better to be the first than Cap's fuck buddy. Yes, Tony actually called me a fuck buddy. I smiled to the girl at the front desk as she directed me toward the training room.

I found Sam there, all Falconed up.

"Hey stranger." I said. He had been at the facility for three weeks but smiled when he saw me and gave me an awkward bulky metal one armed hug.

"They let you in I see." He said.

"Who is dis?" I turned at the accent, seeing the women. Younger than I was, with long brown hair, a black dress and a red leather jacket.

"Crista." I said.

"Wanda." She said, extending her hand. I am pretty sure I reacted to the name because of the face she gave me.

"Sorry." Steve had tried to explain over the phone how the twins had switched sides suddenly when they realized that Ultron was out for mass destruction of the human race. That didn't mean that I forgave her for whatever she did to Natasha. Nat had been stony on all our phone calls in the last month and she wouldn't tell me why. "It's nice to meet you." I said shaking her hand.

"Play nice girls." I turned at the voice and a smile split my face.

"You play nice." I said, launching at him as he caught me. Steve laughed as he put me down after a tight hug, an oddly relaxed smile on his face. I smiled at him again, before biting my lip. I really needed to explain things to him and didn't know how to do it, nor did I want to do so in front of everyone here.

"Steve what the hell happened to… Crista!" I turned at Nat's voice and smiled.

"It is in the cupboard in the corner." Wanda said out of the blue.

"Thanks." Nat said before giving me a hug.

"What?" I asked, glancing between the three who had just had the oddest conversation I had ever ehard.

"Wanda has a way into people's brains." Steve explained, that weird happy smile still on his face. Natasha was smiling too, but it was different. I glanced between them for a second before deciding to change the subject.

"Ready for lunch?" I asked him, recalling the fact that I was normal and they were weird.

"Almost. I have a drill to finish with Witch over here and then I will be starving." He said before he and Wanda walked off somewhere. Steve's mood was slightly confusing but I ignored it.

"How are you?" I asked, switching my full attention to Widow. Her façade cracked slightly and I saw the upset. "What's up?" I asked.

"Bruce is gone. Off the radar. We lost him." I didn't even know what to say so I hugged her. "Why are you so tense?" She asked, that eyebrow of hers quirking.

I pulled back, not really wanting to explain that the guy that shot her multiple times was suddenly back in my life. Bucky and I had had lunch three times in the last three weeks, and basically I was teaching him about himself.

"Nothing." I said, and as I blinked the room changed. Tony didn't explain that feature. Bucky was there, but he wasn't Bucky again. It was the Soldier. I ran to him allowing my hand to trail down the exposed skin of his arm as he turned to look at me.

"Mission complete." He said his voice as cold as the ice he hit in that ravine. I looked down and screamed.

"Whoa." He was hugging me and I clung to his chest, hearing his heart beat. "Shh. What happened?" Captain America took over his tone.

"It was an accident. I apologize." That witch said. I pulled back, eyes scanning his face as he looked back at me.

"You were dead." I said, running my hands down his cheeks, feeling the pulse point in his neck. He pulled me back to his chest, his arms wrapped around my back.

"Was I there?" Nat asked. I shook my head against Steve's chest. "So she only cares if you die. Good to know." I could hear the tease in Nat's voice, and the rumble of laughter through Steve's chest.

"What just happened?" I demanded, shoving Steve away from me as I looked between my two friends. "And what is so fucking funny?"

"Crista, it was an accident. Wanda has a way into people's brains." Steve said, hands still on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. I meant to get her." She said, pointing at Natasha.

"We should talk about your biggest fear being Steve dead." Nat said. "No love for me at all." I let my eyes drop to the ground, too freaked out to laugh yet. Accident. It was an accident. Also, not real. I could tell that but the large mass of man standing in front of me.

"Who is Bucky?" Wanda asked and that question brought all the teasing to an abrupt end. So my fear isn't exactly Steve dead. It's Bucky killing him even after he comes back. The fear that the Soldier has too strong a hold on the body and would complete his mission to kill Captain America at all costs.

"What does Bucky have to do with it?" Steve asked, his eyes shifting to me. Everyone else's eyes followed.

"I was going to tell you at lunch." I said, crossing my arms. "Bucky called." Steve's eyes widened as his hands involuntarily gripped by shoulders. I noticed Natasha stiffen as well with a very slight roll of her left shoulder.

"I told you I should have been asking Crista. He seems to come out of the dark for her. Guess I'm not pretty enough." Sam said. I knew that Sam had been tracking Bucky, but I was content to let Bucky come to me.

"Lunch?" Steve asked. I nodded in agreement and followed him out the door, leaving everyone in their awkward silence.

Steve ate enough for three people every meal. I couldn't imagine what his food bill is every month.

"So Bucky?" He asked after about ten minutes of the most awkward small talk we had every encountered. Including that 'I am from the future' conversation the first day we met.

"He called me the same day you did. He is doing really well." I said. Steve relaxed slightly. "But you can't see him yet." His eyes snapped up to mine, anger and betrayal in them so I launched into the explanation before he could verbally protest. "Last time we were at lunch, we were talking about when he enlisted in the 107th. Well someone came up to the table and asked if I was Captain America's best friend." I took a sip of water to stall. "The change wasn't a complete shift, but I saw it. The soldier still has some control over him, and he still has a strong desire to kill you." Steve nodded slightly, that defeated look I hated so much on his face.

"I understand. I don't want to set anything back."

"That was my fear." I said quietly, still shaken about that very real vision. Tears welled into my eyes. "That I couldn't get him back for you. That no matter how hard I tried, he is always going to want to kill you." Steve's hand shot across the table to take mine, making small circles with his thumb.

"Wanda did apologize." He pointed out.

"Profusely." We sat in the crowded cafeteria holding hands for about five minutes before Hill sat down.

"Does he smell just as good here?" She asked. I laughed, watching the confusion form on Steve's face.

"I don't know I haven't seen his room yet."

AN: Welcome Reign, jassunders, LadySaphire, breebabbles, and Kaderos! You guys are my favorites for following! I have the entire story finished so I will hopefully be posting once a week for the next few weeks. School is starting and this semester will be killer, but Crista is no where near done. I love writing her too much! Drop a review to let me know what you think. MUAH!


	3. So that Happened

A walk. That is what I needed. Between Natasha still teasing me about not caring if she died, that stupid fear vision thing, Wanda apologizing for the stupid fear vision thing, and Hill taking over Tony's roll of asking me if I was having sex with Steve, I needed to get some air.

The woods in New York are amazing. The Mohawk nation used to run these woods, but of course now they were restricted to a 12 by 12 mile plot or something stupid like that. I breathed in the fresh air and reveled in the cool shade of the pine trees. I walked for I don't know how long, listening to the quiet hum of the woods, the birds chirping and the scatter of little feet of the critters.

Man that humming got loud. Like really loud. I almost felt as if it was in me.

"Oh shit." I said, coming to a stop and looking up. I knew the general direction from where I had come, but I cautiously dug my phone out just in case. Something moved to my right and as I turned my attention there, a large feathery thing swopped past me. I screamed in shock, stumbling back quickly. That humming was disorienting. It was so much in me that I didn't know where to run to or from. My thumb was trying to unlock my phone and call Steve. If anyone could get me out of here it was Captain America.

I looked around, realizing that I had deviated from the path when the owl swooped. I turned in circles, trying to ignore the loud humming; I felt like I had just come from a concert. I took a step in the direction I though the path was in, only to trip on a fallen tree. The resulting scratch stung slightly up my arm as I placed it under myself to get me up. My phone was still in my hand as I put my other on the rock face to help me up.

Blackness. Pain. Dizziness. Someone was screaming, someone was pushing me, someone was pulling me. Something was scratching me as I shoved my way through. The screaming was louder, almost an unearthly screech resonating within my head.


	4. This Again

Chapter 4- This again.

I was warmer than I anticipated. And it was softer. I tried to move my… anything and pain shot through my entire body. The pain of an extreme work out that was way too much for you, but you did it anyway. I groaned as I stilled, trying to breathe through the ache. My eyes blinked open to see what can only be described as a luxury cabin.

The walls were paneled with wood, there were trees outside the window and all of the furniture, including that on which I was lying, looked like something out of 18th century France. I sat up slowly, feeling every muscle in my body. Did you know there was a muscle behind your ear? I didn't either. I do now! I slowly placed my feet on the floor. Now that I was moving the ache was beginning to fade as I scanned the room.

"Oh you are awake." I jumped about a foot off the couch and the calm, British voice. I looked over to a well-dressed man with combed and styled hair like something out of the 40's. "I should alert Mr. Stark." I breathed a sigh of relief. Wow. I never thought I would be relieved to see Tony.

"Yeah. TONY!" I said, calling him. He couldn't have been far away, unless he was telling Steve that I had somehow passed out. It actually confused me that Steve wasn't here. He couldn't be that mad at me about Bucky could he?

"Oh." The man said. "I meant Mr. Stark." He said. I looked at him, scanning his body once again. Where did he get that suit?

"Tony?! Someone is in here." I said. The man was staring at me as if I were going to explode. "Tony!" I called again. He wasn't answering. "JARVIS?" I asked, expecting the AI to at least be able to tell me where I was.

"Yes ma'am?" The man in the suit answered. I blinked at him, confused. "You said my name." He supplied.

"Do you need some help in here Mr. Jarvis?" The door opened with the soft voice as I turned. She was beautiful. Her dark hair made her rather pale, but it worked in contrast to her bright red lips. Her brown eyes were focused and sharp and I could understand Steve's obsession. He also captured her essence in the drawings of her I had inadvertently come across.

"I do not believe so Ms. Carter." And there it was. Peggy Carter was standing in front of me, perfectly coiffed hair in a dark blue suit that extenuated her curves. The only explanation; 194- something.

"Oh fuck." I said out loud. "Steve is going to kill me." I said putting my head into my hands. That stupid owl. The humming. The rock. Hopefully he knows I didn't do it on purpose.

"Steve who?" The voice asked.

"Rogers! Steve who!" I said without thinking. I froze at the gasp that left her. She cleared her throat suddenly before I felt weight shift next to me.

"I hate to break this to you, but Steve is dead." She said. My head snapped over to look at her, which I regretted instantly at the motion at the throbbing pain. I started breathing heavily for a moment, that stupid vision back in front of my eyes and Bucky's name on the tip of my tongue. "He died two years ago, when his plane crashed." I breathed a sigh of relief at the realization that I was actually in the 1940's again. What is it with me and this decade?

"Two years. It's 1947?" I asked.

"Is she awake yet? I don't know what this thing is." I looked over and I was pretty sure that my mouth dropped open. While he didn't look exactly like him, the resemblance between father and son was evident.

"To… not Tony." I said, looking into the mischievous brown eyes. If it weren't for the different face I would be prepared for some snarky comment.

"This is Mr. Howard Stark." The Jarvis man said to me.

"Nice to see you awake sweetheart." He said, twirling my iPhone in his hand. "What is this? I can't seem to figure it out."

"My… phone." I said slowly. Now Howard and technology got along, but that didn't mean I wanted him taking apart my phone. The three friends looked at each other.

"There is no cord." Peggy said with a raised eyebrow at Howard.

"It doesn't need a cord." I saw slowly. I mean, these people were part of the reason Steve was Steve so I figured if he could trust them so could I; maybe.

"Make a call then." Howard said, tossing me the box. I sighed.

"I can't." Both Jarvis and Peggy rose and went to stand beside Howard. "The satellites aren't up yet." I mean let's face it, I was talking to the two people who would come to create SHIELD. If only I could find a way to keep me out of the numerous files.

"The what?" Peggy said. I was having a very unpleasant déjà vu to sitting in a freezing tent with a very angry Captain America. That just made an ache start in my chest. Even if he was mad about the whole Bucky thing, he was probably worried. Who knows how long I had been gone.

"Give it 10 years." I muttered. What was it about my phone being a center point here? Looking up into their three faces, my eyes blinked between them. I had known a lot about Steve. Any history teacher did. I knew that he had been chosen for Project Rebirth because of who he was; a good man as Steve likes to recall. I knew some stuff about Howard as well, being you know, Howard. There wasn't a lot to know about Peggy other than she and Howard founded SHIELD.

That was where my dilemma was; Steve trusted them, but he also didn't report me when he found me. That meant that SHIELD didn't know about the Time Traveler thing. Nat didn't seem to tell them either, and then they disbanded.

"Is this place safe?" I asked.

"Safer than my vault honey." The bitter statement made Peggy roll her eyes, Jarvis look to the floor and me very confused.

"Sure, sure." I said, even though I had no idea what was going on. "There are some conditions to me telling you the truth." I looked between the three of them. "I don't know if SHEILD is around yet…" I didn't miss the look between the three. "But I don't want this on SHEILD's records." I said.

"How do you know about SHEILD?" Peggy asked, suddenly harsh. She turned so quickly into an Agent it was like watching Steve switch between Captain America and Steve.

"Because I am from the future." I said slowly. "2015 actually."

The silence in the room was defining as they all looked at me just like Steve had; like I had two heads. I thought about saying I wasn't crazy, but that just made me think of Steve again and how mad he was going to be.

"And you know Steve?" Howard said. Before I answered I looked up at Peggy. The woman who I inadvertently told Steve he wasn't going to end up with.

"Might I ask how your love life is going Ms. Carter?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell them Steve was going to be ok. If I did, hopefully the 70 year time gap would allow Peggy to realize she had to move on.

"No you might not." She snapped. "Where is Steve?" She asked. So much for moving on.

"At the moment? I don't actually know." They all glanced at each other again. "SHIELD never released the coordinates, I don't even know if Steve knows." Peggy was the first to sit, falling into one of the chairs behind them.

"Steve knows. As in, Steve is alive." She whispered. Dammit.

"I have looked all over the planet for Steve. He isn't." Howard said. I sighed slightly. Having not known all of the details himself Steve never really told me about coming out of the ice. Just that he didn't really like the snow anymore.

"He is frozen. SHIELD finds him in 2011." I said, watching their reactions.

"That's 70 years from now." Jarvis said. I nodded, hoping they would believe me the way Steve didn't until he woke up.

"How do we know you aren't with Leviathan?" Peggy asked suddenly sharp.

"With what?" That name did sound familiar. "The demon?" I asked slowly. The tensed up muscle in Peggy's arms and the stressed and serious looks suddenly on all their faces gave me some clue. "I'm not a spy. I am a history teacher from New York."

"And you know Steve?" Howard said.

"Well, yeah. I accidentally stumbled across one of his Hydra raids."

"There is no record of a woman during any Hydra raid." Peggy said with a slight defensive tone.

"No he didn't report it." I said, watching as Howard and Jarvis took seats next to Peggy. "Look, there are certain people who can time travel." I started, and they allowed me to finish the explanation of the weak points in the time and space, the times of the year where the time line weakens and the portals open. "I just need to get back to… wherever you found me so I can go home." I said, swallowing the fear at the thought. I know that Claire had traveled three times, but the thought of doing it again almost brought me to tears. "Steve didn't believe me either, if that helps." I said.

"I think we could all use some tea." Jarvis said before walking out the same door through which Howard and Peggy had entered. Howard stared at me for a second before leaning forward on his knees.

"We can't take you back to where we found you." Howard said. So that caused me to panic.

"Why?" I asked, sure my eyes were wide and terrified.

"Because I don't believe you." He said. "And it doesn't help to tell me that Steve doesn't either." Well, he was blunt just like his son. So I figured, the best way to deal with him would be the same way I deal with Tony.

Seven times. He had called Crista seven times and there was no answer. Steve's leg was bouncing rapidly as he sat in the cafeteria attempting to figure out how to deal with this. She had gone for a walk right after lunch and they were supposed to meet for dinner. She didn't show. He had figured that she and Natasha had gotten caught up in what Tony called "clucking", but Steve knew meant talking. For some reason, both of them being female made it ok for "clucking" to be used, but Steve didn't understand that turn of phrase. Nor did he really care to. He cared to talk to Crista.

Her fear had been something that nagged at him too. No matter how strong of a connection she and Bucky had, there was the possibility that a small part of his once upon a time best friend would always want to kill him. His attention was pulled to the door way as Natasha walked in, alone. He made his way over quickly to his partner and her eyebrow quirked.

"Where is Crista?" He asked, looking behind the small woman as if Crista was hiding.

"What do you mean? We were supposed to get desert after dinner but I figured you had hogged her time." She said, eyebrow lowering and game face coming on.

"She never showed for dinner. I thought she might be with you." He answered, eyes checking the clock. Six hours ago we watched his best friend walk into the forest. Apparently that was the last anyone had seen of her.

Having the new Avengers facility built by Tony had its perks; like F.R.I.D.A.Y.

"Hello Captain Rogers." The female voice said as he typed in his clearance code.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. Locate Crista Fraiser." Normally he would have been a bit more polite to the AI, but he was in no mood for games right. He waited as Natasha finally caught up to him at the computer terminal.

"Crista Fraiser is not in the building Captain Rogers."

"Locate her on the planet." He said. He didn't realize he was gripping the tables edge so hard until Natasha's cool hand landed on his. He glanced down briefly, but returned his attention to the computer.

"That is odd Captain. I cannot locate Ms. Fraiser anywhere within our grid."

 **AN: In honor of Civil War, here is chapter 4! Also, thank you to** **Lynnenikko666** **for joining,** **Xx-ROWSO-5SOS-XX, Hinaluv3r109, TeamCAp93 welcome as well! Let me know what you think! Sprklz**


	5. Girly Times

Stupid genius. Stupid cabin. Stupid 1947! I was in the living room, I think. Howard's upstate New York hunting cabin was bigger than my parents house. He also hadn't allowed me out of sight of the butler since I awoke.

"I've got it Mr. Jarvis." Peggy said behind me. I had been starring out the window trying to figure out if Howard had somehow electrified it or if it was safe to break through. The problem with that plan was that I didn't know where I was or where I had been found so I could be roaming the forest for a very long time trying to find that stupid buzzing. "Ms. Fraiser." Peggy said, sitting in the chair next to me.

"I'm not a spy." I said for the thousandth time in two days. "Look I have to get back to Steve. He is probably going crazy." I said. Yes, it was rude for me to imply that there was more between Steven and me than there was. It was also rude for me to try and exploit Peggy's feelings for the Captain. But I was desperate.

"You care about him." She said. It wasn't a question but I answered with a nod anyway. "You love him?" Again I nodded. It was the truth. I did love Steve. Just not romantically. Maybe. I was 99 percent sure that I didn't have romantic feelings for Steve Rogers. I heard Peggy intake a breath and I looked over to her. She glanced at the door before turning her inquiring brown eyes back to me.

"I happen to believe you Ms. Fraiser."

"Crista." I said annoyed. Jarvis had been calling me Ms. Fraiser for days… "wait what?" Peggy licked her red stained lips and leaned back slightly.

"I contacted a friend. He confirmed that the Howling Commando's did in fact encounter a woman in the woods of Germany during a HYDRA raid. He said that Steve never reported it."

"I could have just found that out." Good Crista. Make them think you're a spy more than they already do.

"Yes, well. Dugan mentioned her eyes were entrancing. Turquois actually." I looked over at Peggy amazed. She had gotten in contact with Dum Dum and apparently without Howard knowing. I was starting to understand Steve's obsession a bit more as I wanted nothing more than to kiss her at that moment. "Not many people have turquois eyes. And I doubt that you would have gone through the process of dying them just to get into Howard's cabin."

"Dum Dum is ok?" I asked, a slight smile pulling at my lips at the memory of the mustached man in a bowler hat. He had always been so protective of me and even though I didn't know why, I had always appreciated it. Peggy nodded, eyeing me.

"He asked the same thing about you. He said the last time he saw you, you were jumping out of a moving truck and ran into the forest. Two members of the Howling Commando's followed you and when they returned said you had been reunited with your family." She explained. I smiled slightly. Steve didn't like to lie but technically it wasn't a lie; it just wasn't the whole truth. I noticed Peggy's intense gaze and it clicked. She was testing me, wanting to make sure that my story and Dum Dum's were the same. "You see my problem is…"

"That those are the two Howling Commando's you can't ask." I finished. "Both Bucky and Steve are MIA." I wondered when they would be finding Bucky, alive, cold, limbless. Peggy smiled at me sadly, nodding in response.

"Well, Barnes isn't MIA." She said glancing down at her lap. Cold. Yeah that was what I was feeling. Had she read my mind, and if she had, did that mean that Bucky had already been found and was already loosing himself?

"What?" I managed to squeak out, before clearing my throat. "Did you find him?"

"Well no. But we know he is in that ravine." I visibly slumped into the seat, but out of relief or disappointment I couldn't tell. "Is something wrong?" I took a deep breath, released it in a sigh and before I knew what I was saying, I explained my entire predicament.

"I know things. I know things that are going to happen and I know that one sentence from my mouth could change everything. But it would change the world I return to and I am selfish enough that I don't want that to happen. Which is bullshit because if Steve were in my position, he would change things; because it would be better for the world despite how it affected his personal life and let me tell you how frustrating it is to have a Saint as a best friend. Makes you realize all of your short comings." At some point during my rant I had sat up, only to slump back against the seat again completely exhausted.

I missed my time. I missed my friends. I missed Steve. I couldn't stay the rest of my life in the 40s. Sure I would probably still be alive when they found Steve but I would be the age he should look. I also didn't want to get into the brain teaser of what would happen when I would be born and I was already seventy years old.

"He always did have a way of making people take a closer look at their decisions." I glanced over at Peggy. She was sitting ramrod straight on the edge of her seat. The look on her face gave me pause. It was eager, and nervous, but determined. As if she wanted to know something and there was nothing standing in the way of her getting that information. That look worried me a little bit; what if it was information that I couldn't give up? Like _kill Zola_ , or _watch out for Hydra._ Either of those would most likely cause the incident in DC to not happen, which would mean that there would be a whole year of my life that I would return to that was completely different than the one I remember.

Then again, Brianna had explained to me that one couldn't change the past. Her parents had tried when her mother accidentally found herself in 1742. Wait, Claire disappeared in 1945 just after the war, and she was gone for… three years. She wouldn't be back until 1948. But while she was in the eighteenth century she fell in love with Brianna's father. That love, and the knowledge of what would happen to Scotland after the Stuart uprising persuaded them to try and prevent said uprising.

But they couldn't. It happened anyway. All of the destruction, all of the death, the famine and the hardship happened even with Claire's knowledge of what was coming. You can't change history. Brianna had said that repeatedly during my time at their home in the Highlands. I focused back on the present, at Peggy looking so determined.

"Why are you looking at me like a pack of wolves looking at a downed deer?" I said. The question seemed to confuse her but she shook it and I saw her refocus. Yup. Determined.

"I want to know about the future." She said, hands clasping into the black skirt she was wearing.

"Bad things have happened to wizards who meddled with time Harry." I muttered, mimicking both Peggy's and Emma Watson's accents.

"Excuse me?" So sometimes, quotes come out without my ability to stop them and apparently my sudden turn to British also raised the hackles on Ms. Carter's back. Not something that I wanted to see happen. From what I had been told she could be quite deadly when she wanted to be.

"It's from a book. It'll come out in the late 90's, you should get it for your grandkids, they will probably like it." I shook my head to stop the babbling and attempted to refocus on her demand. "I can't tell you about the future."

"Why not?" She demanded. That was going to be a little bit more difficult to explain. My generation had taken Doc Brown's proclamation as dicta when he said _one shouldn't know too much about their own future_. If the government knew of the select few of us who could travel through time, there was no public acknowledge about it. I wonder if there was anyone held in Area 51 for time travel.

"It could screw up what happens." I answered vaguely. "But maybe I can tell you a little about you." Her face lit up just a bit. I didn't know much about Peggy Carter; I knew who she would marry and that she would still be alive when Steve woke up. "Well you know about SHIELD. I know you get married, and have a beautiful family. Well, the physical attractiveness is up for debate, Steve used the word beautiful but he's biased."

"Steve sees them?" She asked.

"You have pictures. He sees them when he comes to visit you." I explained slowly, braced for any volatile reaction that might be coming.

"Steve comes to see me?" She prompted quietly. There was a sadness to the tone that tugged on my heart strings slightly; she really loves this man. I also can't blame her for that.

"Of course he does. When he wakes up in 2011, there are two people in the world that he knows; they are both sitting in this room." The weight of that statement hit me. I know that Steve started seeing her once he moved to DC so there wasn't any chance that they would talk about me before Steve found me that day at school. Yeah sure, that timeline worked out. I think. "He comes to see you when he moves to DC. Like clockwork. Every two weeks on the dot." She nodded slightly.

"I will be…" She paused, her teeth worrying her bottom lip for a moment as she thought. "… 94 when he wakes up." And that sadness again.

"You know, every time he comes to see you Steve calls me afterward. He always says how happy he is that you moved on and lived your life. He would hate himself if you waited around for him and lost 70 years." I wasn't even lying. Steve called me every time. He was always depressed at first because it was the life he should have lived with her, but it always made him happy that she got to live hers. Peggy nodded, before taking a deep breath in through her nose.

"You will take care of him." The tone left no room for argument, and it made me smile.

"Always. It's what we do." I said, remembering the one time I couldn't take care of him. The one time he was unconscious in a hospital bed because he was too good to night fight his best friends doppelganger/ shell. "Oh. When you hear on the news that Captain America has been hospitalized, don't freak. He walks out the next day."

"Why was he hospitalized?"

"We fell out of a hel…" Yeah, a hellicarrier probably didn't exist yet. "plane." That wasn't correct. "We fall out of a plane? We will fall out of a plane. Have had has." I said, muttering the last as a joke to myself. For me, DC was in the past, but for when I was right now, it was still 70 years in the future. This was confusing.

"He fell out of a plane?" She asked horrified.

"He does that." The tone I used seemed to stop her next question, lapsing us into an almost uncomfortable silence.

"So I get married." She said a smile appearing on her face at the thought. I nodded. "To whom?" Of course. Doesn't everyone want to know who they would get married to just to make it easier?

"I don't know. Steve never told me." I said, looking back out the window so as not to make eye contact. It was almost suffocating. I loved nature. I did. But for a woman born and raised in the hustle and bustle of New York too much time surrounded by nothing but trees and no way of telling where the hell you are could get over whelming. "Howard too." I said off handedly. Everyone knew when the famous Howard Stark got married. Everyone also knew when the genius procreated.

"Howard gets married?" Peggy asked, a slight tone of shock in her voice. I laughed and nodded.

"He has a son too." I said, rolling my eyes at the thought of Tony.

"Oh dear lord help us all." Peggy muttered, and that simply caused both of us to break down into a giggle fit.

AN:Welcome strawberrylilly! I hope you guys like. I have this story completed so it should be coming up (sort of) fast. Sprklz!


	6. Homeward Bound Ew!

Howard had interrupted our girl fest in the living room when he barged in with a "mind set to get the truth out of me". That had simply made Peggy and I laugh harder, and actually stun the cocky genius into silence. Treating Howard with the same aloof annoyance as I use with Tony seemed to be the best way to go and he always seemed a little put off by it.

Peggy and I apparently had a silent agreement to not tell Howard about his future family. However, there was a part of me that really wanted to. I knew that Tony didn't get along well with his father and part of that was because Howard spent so much time looking for Steve. Holy crap, could that be because he knew that Steve wasn't dead? So he put more time than he would have into looking for him because I had told him that Steve wasn't dead? But then, wouldn't it also lead to Howard knowing they would find him in 2011 and leave it be? Suddenly I wished that I could stop off in the '80's on the way back to ask Howard then. No, just get back to 2015. That is the best place for you.

"You alright there sweet heart?" Howard asked, pulling me out of my tangled thoughts. I nodded. Peggy had been filling Howard in on my relationship with Dum Dum during Crista- Thinking time and had almost convinced him that I wasn't a spy.

"That and she is a terrible liar." Peggy commented. So she caught my _don't look her in the eye_ moment when I had said I didn't know who she married. "The only two people who can confirm what happened in 1945 when Crista was 'reunited with her family' are Steve and Bucky."

"Well isn't that convenient." Howard muttered.

"I believe her Howard." Peggy said with a warm smile which I returned. Ok, still understanding Steve's obsession; I wanted to kiss her again. "You also ran a drug test and there was nothing in her system to make her pass out as she did. She also looked like hell when she woke up. Something happened to her." Ok, maybe I didn't want to kiss her so much anymore. Looked like hell, bah. Then again, Peggy would probably come out of that travel perfect. I allowed my eyes to roll.

"This is true. Not much can make someone black out for a day and a half." That caught my attention.

"What?" I said.

"You were out for almost two days before you woke up." Two days. Two days out. Two days here. Four days total.

"I've been here for four days?" I hadn't noticed I had stood up until I was looking down at Howard, who nodded slowly as if I was a trapped wild animal. "Oh my god. I have to get home. Howard please. If I wait any longer the time will have passed and I can't be here for 6 months." I was hoping that Steve wouldn't be mad at me if I went back in time by accident as opposed to on purpose. I sat down suddenly, the realization hitting me. I was going to have to travel again. The thought made me physical sick. My head was spinning with just the thought of going anywhere near a portal.

"This travel, it isn't easy is it?" Peggy asked. I shook my head and swallowed hard. There were no words for the travel, and so I didn't even try to explain it.

"Is there a way to make it easier?" Howard asked quietly. I took a steadying breath and tried to collect my thoughts.

"In theory, a precious gem helps. The time of year is critical. But other than that, its chaos." I said quietly. Precious gem. Maybe that was the key. I hadn't had one the first three times. "If you can get me a gem, I have a credit card…" No I didn't. I had left all of my stuff other than my phone at the facility. I hadn't planned to be gone too long. "Never mind." I said.

"I have some." Howard said with a slight jerk of his head. "Just in case a dame wants one." I should have rolled my eyes at that but I couldn't. "You can have whatever one you want." I looked at him sharply. I had seen that look on Tony's face once. After Ultron had destroyed his living room. Remorse.

"Are you trying to get into my pants?" I asked suddenly. Howard laughed and Peggy rolled her eyes.

"Sweetheart, if I had wanted to do that, you would have known it two days ago."

The sapphire that Howard had given me was the size of my pinky nail. I couldn't imagine how much this would cost. I also didn't know what would happen to it. If it survived, I would give it to Tony. It would be his anyway. Howard and Peggy were in the front seat of Howard's car as he drove down a dirt road. The feeling in my stomach was terrible and the bumpy road didn't help. I took a deep breath in in through the nose and blew it out. I don't know why yogi's do that; it doesn't help!

Peggy turned, eyebrows raised a little while later to grab my attention.

"What?" I asked, looking up at her. She smiled slightly before getting out of the car. I hadn't even realized we had stopped.

"Come on sweetheart." I looked over, not even having notice the door opened. Howard was holding a hand out to me and I grasped it allowing him to pull me from the car. I heard it. I could feel it, almost spinning around me like a tangible thing. I was light headed and nauseous and felt three times my weight. His hand squeezed mine making me realize that I was shaking. This was not going to be good, but all I thought about was Steve in 2015. "You'll be ok." I nodded slightly.

"This is where we found you, passed out in the dirt." Peggy said coming around the back of the car.

"It's that way." I whispered, nodding into the thicket of trees in front of us. The pull of the damn rock was like a weight in my gut and I swallowed but my mouth was dry. Peggy put a reassuring hand on my elbow, with a slight pressure to move me forward. The humming was so loud, I was still amazed that Howard and Peggy couldn't hear it. Then again, neither could Steve or Bucky.

The dizziness had me stumbling again but the rock was so much different than the tree; it was humming louder and I didn't feel a welcoming bass drum thumping; just an overwhelming sense of dizzy. I almost felt drunk. We broke through the undergrowth and stopped as I got hit with such a forceful energy I had to stop. The rock looked harmless enough. There didn't seem to be anything special about this place except the pulsing energy that I could almost see out of my peripheral vision; like a ghost dancing just out of sight. I took a shaky breath and trembled one last time.

"You listen to me. You get back to your time, and you take care of him." Peggy had yanked me around to face her and she had me by both shoulders. "You love him, and you tell him that I think about him everyday." I nodded numbly but remembered the words. I was sure that even at 94 Peggy would still be able to kick my ass so I wasn't about to defy her command. "And you come see me with him sometimes." She said, pulling me into a hug. I almost wanted to stay there, wrapped in the arms of an almost friend and not even consider the chaos that awaited me.

"You'll be ok sweatheart. You come see me when you get back too; let me know you aren't lyin'." Howard said, pulling me away from Peggy and looking into my eyes. If I hadn't been so scared I would have cried. Howard was going to die in 1991 and I wouldn't be able to let him know I wasn't lying.

"I know I probably shouldn't say this, but... let Tony know you love him." I said, pulling my grasp from his.

"Who the hell is Tony?" Howard asked, making Peggy and I giggle a bit.

"He's a pain in the ass. Just like you." I said. With the thought of the pain in the ass billionaire and his upstate New York facility I turned toward the unassuming rock. "Hey Peg?"

"Yes Crista." She said, her voice slightly thick.

"Push me." I said, attempting to swallow again and failing as my mouth was still dry.

"What?"

"Push me." I said, my voice shaking slightly. I closed my hand over the sapphire in my pocket, and felt two hands on back.

And push me they did.

Steve punched, hitting Rhodey in the chest, slightly denting the armor. The Colonel stumbled and his face plate came up. Steve had always pulled punches when training with anyone for fear of hurting of them but he had lost his control.

It had been 4 days and Crista still wasn't on the planet. He had thought briefly of attempting to contact Thor but he had no idea how to do so.

"Sorry Rhodey." He mumbled, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"It's ok Cap. I'm sure she's fine." The other Avengers had known what was going on and forgave Steve any little error that was committed in the last 4 days.

Steve nodded but pulled himself out of training. Wanda was stabilizing Natasha as Nat climbed a wall, and Sam was helping Vision with target practice, flying around the high ceiling-ed room as Vision tried to hit him. Steve sat down on a bench hard and put his head in his hands.

"Captain Rogers. Crista Fraiser has reappeared." Nat slammed to the floor, Sam almost ran into a light fixture and all eyes turned toward Steve as his head snapped up. He had put F.R.I.D.A.Y on watch and told it to alert him when Crista showed up. "She is half a mile north." He was out of his seat before he knew he was moving and he felt Nat and Sam with him.

Nat had been quiet the last four days, and if anyone but Steve spoke to her, she was snappy. Sam took to the skies as soon as they were out the door and flew ahead as Steve flat out sprinted to the foot path down which Crista had disappeared.

"Left Steve." Nat yelled a few minutes later.

"I've got eyes on a heat signature Cap, but it's not moving." Sam yelled from the sky. Steve turned, crashing through brush and jumping over tree roots.

"3 meters." Nat yelled as Steve leaped over a thin fallen tree and skidded into a clearing. Crista was on the ground seemingly asleep. She was paler than he had ever seen her as Sam landed behind a large boulder and Nat finally caught up with him. He slid down next to her, fingers shaking as he reached toward her neck. "Steve?" The relief he felt at the small steady thumps in Crista's neck wasn't a lot; they were steady, but not strong.

"Her vitals are all over the place Steve." Sam said. There was nothing to indicate that Crista was hurt, no scrapes or scratches or catches in her clothes, no blood, she was just unconscious.

"Steve." Nat said again from behind him. "Do you think is a spot?" Steve's eyes squeezed close; of course it was. He had been so worried about the possibility that Crista had been taken by aliens somehow that he hadn't even put the connection together. Thank God Nat had a brain. He scooped Crista up against his chest and started back through the clearing.

"I'll alert medical." Sam said as he took the air again. Steve looked down at his beautiful best friend and huffed out a shaking breath. Three times was the most he had heard of. So what happened to someone when they attempted a fourth time?

AN: HUGE welcome to Hally2 and kylynnjen! I hope you guys enjoy. I hope to have the rest of the story up by the New Year so I can focus on the next chapters of Crista's adventure. I always love to hear from you as well as you joining the Crista Club! Happy New Year (soonish) everyone!


	7. Hospital Reversals

"What?" Steve demanded, arms crossed over his chest, a glare for the nurse.

"We can't do anything for her. We aren't a full hospital Captain." The nurse said. "We ran a scan and everything is fine; there is no head trauma or blood loss. She's just unconscious." Steve pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers as he felt Nat's hand on his forearm. A gentle touch to let him know he wasn't alone. "We have a quinjet prepped to air lift her to a hospital in the city that is more equipped for this." The nurse said, breathing out as Steve sighed.

He looked over at Natasha, her stone face in place and hard. He moved his arm from under her hand and placed it around her shoulders, squeezing. They both remembered that last time they had been in a hospital watching a friend lie helpless as Doctors treated him. Steve highly doubted that Crista had some miracle injection like Fury. Nat nodded once and moved with the Med team as they wheeled Crista past. She was still pale, possibly paler than she had been when he found her.

Steve and Nat sat next to each other on the hour flight back into New York listening to the Med team around them attempting to figure out what had happened to his friend. They weren't ever going to. No one but travelers understood the travel and the side effects and no medical team would believe him if he said it was from a weak spot in the time continuum.

Being Captain America had it's benefits; No one asked him to fill out forms or stupid things that were required for everyone else. But then he couldn't decide if it was the fact that he was an American icon or the steely gaze of the 5 foot 2 inches of angry red head next to him. Natasha had quickly silenced any questions with a well place arch of her eyebrow and a fold of her arms across her chest.

"For Crista Fraiser?" Steve looked up and stood as the Doctor came through the E.R. Doors. He nodded in acknowledgment, his eyes only widening briefly as he recognized two members of the Avengers. "There is some trauma that her brain is protecting her from, but we can't find any traces of physical trauma." Steve nodded, allowing his face to attempt to show his surprise; they wouldn't find trauma. The trauma was traveling between time through something that Crista could never fully describe to him, but the fear in her eyes told him more than enough.

"Can we see her Doctor?" Natasha asked.

"She is still unconscious." The Doctor said, but told them the hospital had transferred Crista to a private room. Steve paused outside the room wondering if this was the way Crista had felt when the rolls were reversed and he was the one in the hospital bed.

Well she couldn't have felt that. His perfect best friend looked so tiny in that bed he thought it was going to swallow her. And she was still so pale. Without a word, Nat curled into the chair on Crista's left as Steve took a place on her right, reaching out to take her freezing hand into his. He let out a huge breath and looked up at her face. It almost looked as if she were asleep.

"Come on Crista." He said, letting his fingers squeeze her in an attempt to get some heat into them. He thought briefly about crawling into bed her with her to warm her up. Last time at least she had been conscious.

They sat like that, starring at nothing in-particular until sun down, not moving when the nurses tried to take her vitals. They did that every hour; and the nurses never complained about working around living statues.

"Captain Rogers." He blinked over, coming out of his starring trance to turn to the first person to address him for hours. It was the night nurse, and she was just finishing writing her name on the dry erase board. "We have her personal items." She said, tucking a string of blond hair behind her ear and holding out a bag presumably with Crista's clothes. Steve took it numbly as the nurse left the room.

He let his fingers pull through Crista's still cold ones as he untied the bag to give a cursory glance. He was almost hoping some snarky comment to come about him trying to catch a glimpse of her underwear, but Crista remained asleep; it was easier if he thought of it as asleep. She had been out for almost 15 hours and Steve didn't know what to do. He didn't have a tactical plan for this; he couldn't punch his way out. A light in the bag caught his eye and he took out Crista's iPhone.

34 missed calls and 108 texts from the last four days. The numbers barely registered because of the name plaster across the top of the screen; "Bucky".

"Steve?" Nat asked, making him realize he was having a starring contest with a phone. "You ok?" She asked. He nodded. He wasn't sure if Crista and Nat had had the opportunity to talk about the new found relationship with Bucky. "Is it Barnes." Steve smiles ruefully and tossed the phone to her.

"He must be going crazy. I know how that feels." He looked back up at Crista. Steve couldn't be mad at Bucky, he did know exactly how he felt. At least Steve knew Crista was alive.

"I wonder." Nat muttered. He made an inquiring noise as he looked over to his partner.

"Crista said that she could bring Barnes back. Last year when he kidnapped her." Steve nodded, still angry about D.C. and Crista's being there at all. "I wonder if it's reciprocal."

"What?" Natasha looked at him, big green eyes wide and more excited than she had allowed him to see in a long time.

"What if he can bring her back too?"


	8. Chapter 8

It was ringing. He could hear it from where the phone was pressed to Natasha's ear. They had debated for two hours about whether to call Bucky. They finally decided it was best if Natasha called. He answered on the third ring.

"What the hell doll?" Steve's gut clenched; Bucky sounded so normal.

"James Barnes?" Nat asked.

"Who are you?" The change in his voice was stunning. Steve could almost hear the steely look on his face.

"My name is Natasha Romanoff. I'm a friend of Crista's."

"We've met." Bucky said. Natasha rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. This man had shot her twice, yet she was letting it go for Crista.

"Crista has had a sort of accident." She said.

"What kind of accident?" Bucky demanded. Nat looked at him. They hadn't decided how they were going to explain the accident without drawing some sort of attention. There was a camera in the corner of the room but no indication as to whether it had audio.

"The kind like she had when you first met her." Nat said slowly and Steve nodded.

"A car accident?" That question confused both himself and Nat but he could only shrug.

"No. When you first met her the first time. In the woods."

This was followed by silence. Steve glanced over at Crista, hoping she had moved but she hadn't. She was still lying perfectly still and pale.

"Where is she?" Bucky asked.

"New York Presbyterian on Williams Street. She's unconscious." Nat was standing perfectly still, something Steve had realized happened when she was nervous or stressed. Almost the opposite of a nervous tick, Nat became a nervous statue.

"Is he there?" She glanced at him, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, he is here." He heard Bucky sigh through the phone.

"Don't let me see him. I will be there in thirty minutes." Before Natasha could answer, the line went dead. He didn't have enough emotions to worry about two friends at once. Team mates was different, he knew they could handle themselves. But Crista wasn't special like that. She didn't have armor, or skills or a gamma radiation side effect. She just had her brain. The brain that was helping Bucky come back to himself.

Crista had told him at lunch that Bucky wasn't ready yet. If someone said Steve's name, she could see the soldier come back. Bucky apparently knew it too. Steve swallowed, focusing his worry on Crista instead of Bucky because now, Bucky was special. He had enhancements and he could also take care of himself. So if he thought he wasn't ready to see Steve, Steve wasn't going to push it. He had thirty minutes to find a place to hide that wasn't so far away that he couldn't get back to Crista if she needed him.

He found himself standing just around the corner. Natasha had waited in the room to make sure that only Bucky came in. Not like a lot of people wanted to harm Crista but she did it for Steve. His back was to the wall but he picked up the footsteps.

"I told him he has thirty minutes." Widow said, eye brow arched. Fifteen nail biting minutes later she was about to kill him. "Seriously Steve I will hit you." She said, pinning his arms to his side so he would stand still. Waiting to get back into the room was far worse than waiting for a mission to start.

"Cap. What the hell?" Steve turned to glance down the hall and had to fight to not roll his eyes.

"Tony I don't have the strength right now..."

"Steve..." Tony stopped next to him, pushing up the violet tinted glasses. "What the hell happened to Crista?" The look Steve shot him was enough for Tony. "Med called. They said they transferred her here."

"I don't know what happened." He lied, watching Natasha smirk. According to her, he still was a horrible liar.

"That why you're so tense? That and what are you doing out here?"

"She has a visitor." Nat said, smirk still in place.

"You had to leave for that?" Steve shot a look at his female friend before turning to Tony. How does one explain this; If Rhodey had been brainwashed and could only respond to Pepper but he wanted to kill Tony and now he was in Pepper's hospital room after she fell through time?

"He might want to kill him." Nat said before Steve could find the words. Tony nodded. Guess he could have just said that.

"Do you want to listen in?"

"What?" He asked. Tony did a lot of things, but how was he even thinking they could listen in on Bucky and Crista.

"When I heard she was here I had F.R.I.D.A.Y tap into the system, turned the camera in her room to private." Steve just starred for a moment as Tony held out his phone. Tony was a lot of things; annoying, flamboyant, selfish. But he did care about his friends. Steve nodded, taking the clear rectangle.

"Thank you Tony." Tony sniffed as if to brush it off.

"We get to listen too." He said, moving so that he was pressed against Steve's arm to see the screen.

The picture was a little grainy, but Bucky was sitting in Steve's chair, gloved hand linked through Crista's fingers.

"Come on doll. If I had known this would effect you this way I would have tied you up in the closet weeks ago." Steve laughed slightly. He felt that like with Crista some times. Bucky sighed. "What am I supposed to do with out you Crista. I can't keep wanting to kill my best friend, and the Smithsonian only told me so much." Steve glanced at Nat. Bucky had been in D.C. at some point in the last year and no camera's had caught him. Then again, it was why it had been so easy to steal his old uniform.

"I know he's probably worried about you too. I know we don't talk about him. You think I'm going to snap, but I'm not. I'm getting better. I have control, I know what I am doing. I remember everything. I wish that would go away. But I can't get better without you doll." Steve watched as Bucky shifted, his right human hand coming up to brush the hair off Crista's face.

"It's gonna do bad things to me if you don't snap out of this Crista. I need you. Steve needs you. I'm sure Romanoff needs you but I can't exactly pinpoint why." Steve and Tony smirked over at Nat who scoffed. "She's a tough one. Never took her for the friends type. I was actually a little shocked to see her with Stevie." Steve's eyes snapped back to the screen. Bucky hadn't said that name in decades. He watched Bucky laugh slightly.

"God I haven't said that since I was eighteen. The night his mom died. She would have liked you. Because you see people for who they are; who they truly are. Appearance doesn't matter. We need you back Cris." Steve's heart stopped as Bucky shifted forward and it took everything in him to stand still. One, to Steve's knowledge no one called Crista anything but Crista. Two, Bucky's hand was very close to her throat. "I need you back please." He whispered, and before Steve could react he was frozen again as Bucky pressed his lips to Crista's.

It was odd, watching them kiss this time. He had seen it before; once because she wanted him to have a happy memory, the second to distract the Soldier from killing him. This time, the only desperate situation was Crista waking up. Bucky pressed his forehead to hers.

"I really need you doll. More than I would admit to you if you were awake." He whispered, kissed her one more time and leaned back. "He's also probably going crazy. His best friend in here, helpless with a known assassin. Surprised it wasn't a trap. I know you wouldn't do that. But you do need to wake up. I'll be around." He said standing up. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Crista's temple and then looked like he whispered something in her ear that even Steve couldn't catch.

"What did he say?" Tony asked, and Steve had almost forgotten they were there. He was watching Bucky leave, angry at himself for not thinking of a trap sooner. But also knowing that Bucky had to walk away, he had to come back on his own. He heard the door close.

"Oh excuse me." A nurse said and he heard Bucky grumbled something as Nat looked around the corner.

"All clear." She said, lips pressed together. Steve handed the phone back to Tony, pushing the emotional turmoil down as he did so.

He walked slowly to the door, afraid that Bucky might have turned around. Then again, assassin's didn't do that.

"Oh wow." The nurse said from inside Crista's room. "Those are some eyes aren't they." Steve's head snapped around as Natasha muttered an astonished "what"? He shoved the door too hard and it slammed into the wall, handle piercing the wall enough to hold the door open. The heart rate spiked as the nurse screamed.

"Crista!" Tony exclaimed from behind as Steve was suddenly on the bed. He didn't remember telling his body to get on the bed but he was, grasping her shoulder and kissing her. She laughed slightly and shoved him away.

"Ok I'm sorry. I get it, pay backs a bitch." She said, turquoise eyes slightly dull but open as they looked at him. "Hi." She whispered.

"Move Rogers." Nails dug into his ear and he yelled as he was yanked away.

"That's hot." Tony said, causing Steve to turn around as the Nurse cleared her throat. Well, Crista would kiss anyone wouldn't she.

"I'm taking Barnes' advice and I'm tying you up in the closet." Nat said, surfacing from the kiss.

"Damn Nat! I didn't know you could do that." Crista smirked, causing Natasha to smile. "Wait, Bucky was here?" She asked, eyes wide and more alert than they had been a second ago.

"Looks like he has the same effect on you." Steve said. Crista's heart rate spiked slightly as she looked toward the door. "Get some rest, Cris." He said deliberately. Crista sighed, and rolled her eyes at him. He didn't care how exasperated she was. She was awake.

 **A/N: So sorry for the delay. There is one more chapter to this story and then Crista's tale becomes staccato; I have plans but they will essentially be one shots possibly posted under one story title, but I have yet to decide that. HUGE welcome to Yourfamiliar, Catalinaorrego, Alliemill98 and Blue Phoenix 217! I hope you all are enjoying it and I promise to post the final chapter soon!**


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